Learners with Exceptionalities - Research Paper Example

Gifted Learners, Learners with Exceptionalities Introduction Gifted display a number of capabilities and levels of difference from their agemates. Some of these gifted students demonstrate exceptional cognitive aptitude and ability. Others may show extraordinary psychomotor skills or leadership characteristics. Among these gifted students there are others who may still exhibit extraordinary ability in performing and visual arts such as sculpting, singing, performing dramatically, playing musical instruments, dancing, drawing, and painting. Depending on the nature and the magnitude of these differences, the educational, social, psychological, and emotional well-being of the gifted students are affected (Obiakor, Rotatori and Utley, 2003). This paper analyses the characteristics and behavior of a gifted child with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Gifted Learners Exceptional is an all-inclusive term and it is used to describe a person whose behavioral, intellectual and physical performance differs significantly from what is normal (typical), either lower or higher. The individuals described as exceptional comprise those with extraordinary disabilities (such as intellectual disabilities or learning disabilities) and extraordinary abilities (such as talents and gifts). Individuals, who are exceptional, whether disabled or gifted, benefit from individualized accommodations, support, or assistance in community and school settings (Drew, Egan and Hardman, 2010). Gifted students learn how to create personal identities, deal with independence, create interpersonal relationship that is warm and loving, deal with independence, and discover romantic relationships. There is need for them to identify and create their attitudes, belief systems, personalities, and personal values. Majority of the students possessing exceptionalities are culturally diverse and they face complex limitations, challenges, and issues. The existence of multiple intelligences within the classroom setting may be challenging for majority of the teachers. For example, an athlete possessing great physical capabilities in sports may lack mental capability to perform well in academics in school (Vang, 2010). Some of the students are gifted in one area while experiencing adverse learning encounter in another area. An example is a student who can verbalize well but cannot write anything down. The student may not be capable of recording his or her thoughts due to writing-related disability. Another example is a dyslexic gifted student who is not able to decode or read words. Despite his high intelligence, the student has to teach himself how to read through the memorization of words. A twice-exceptional student is a gifted student who has a behavior or a learning challenge (Brulles, Kingore and Winebrenner, 2008). Gifted students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) commonly experience attention-related problems and hyperactivity, the two behaviors many times occurring simultaneously. Some of the characteristics of such individuals include missing details, forgetfulness, and high level of distraction. People with ADHD also normally switch frequently from one task or activity to a different one since they have trouble maintaining concentration on one activity for long. They also daydream a lot and often fail to complete their tasks. Yet another characteristic of ADHD is that individuals affected by it are highly impatient, constantly in motion and wish to touch and play with objects or people every time. Gifted students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are one of the most neglected gifted students with multiple exceptionalities. Moon in the article “Parenting gifted children with AD/HD” offers experience of her son who is gifted and has the AD/HD condition. The author became interested in gifted students with AD/HD when one of her sons was diagnosed of the condition in middle school. The frustrations, behaviors and habits that were unexplainable made sense when both she and the son took the initiative to address the condition (Moon, 2001). The author conducted research in which she was able to conclude that gifted children with AD/HD were vulnerable to emotional and social adjustment problems. The emotional difficulties include emotionality, immaturity and struggles in coping with the enormous gap between their advanced cognitive developments and delayed emotional/social development. The social problems entailed aggressive and annoying social behavior and the inability to handle peer rejection (Moon, 2001). Development and Characteristics of a Gifted Student with ADHD Jack is a talented and gifted learner with ADHD who has uncommon cognitive (information processing) capabilities. He has an outstanding ability to analyze and utilize enormous amounts of information. He also has the ability to quickly learn, retain and apply new information. He also possesses extraordinary comprehension and generalization skills having the ability to process information fast and effortlessly comprehend complex relationships and abstract concepts. Furthermore, he has an excellent memory, outdoing most of his peers even in class. Such a talented and gifted student with his uncommon intellectual capability tends to show the potential to perform in a number of field studies (Johnsen, 2006). Researchers have identified characteristics that are related to the general individual’s intellectual capability and they include: A detailed and extensive memory and more so in the student’s area of interest. A vocabulary that is advanced for age, that is, precocious language. A communication skill that is advanced for age and the child is capable of expressing feelings and ideas. Asking intelligent questions. The capability to identify essential characteristics of new problems and concepts. Learn information quickly. Utilization of logic to arrive at the common sense answers. Possessing a wide base of knowledge, that is, an enormous quantity of information. Understanding complex concepts and abstract ideas. Utilization of problem solving, analogical thinking or reasoning. Seeing connections and observing relationships. Solving and finding unusual and difficult problems. Understanding principles, forming generalizations and using them in new scenarios. Curiosity and the want to learn. Working conscientiously and a high level concentration in the area of interest. Understanding and using a number of symbol systems (Johnsen, 2006). Jack evidently manifests all the above characteristics which places him squarely in the league of gifted individuals. Other than the cognitive characteristics, a gifted student usually shows particular affective characteristics. Some researchers suggest that the following emotional aspects of the talented and gifted persons may be temperaments or traits while in others it may be developed (Johnsen, 2006). Jack particularly shows the following traits in and outside the classroom environment, characteristics of gifted individuals according to Johnsen (2006). Jack is motivated by work that excites him, he is independent and self-directed He is persistent in finishing tasks in areas that interest him He judges and evaluates critically and has a high level of concentration Routine works bore jack, he instead prefers assignments and activities that give him a new kind of experience Adult problems interest him, and he has high self-concept and especially in academics He has a sense of humor and is highly sensitive, empathic and a perfectionist Standard 2 is very important if the child has to thrive in a new setting. Gifted students with ADHD have difficulty in their social and emotional development. All the elements of the human psychological development and their factors must be understood in order to develop a nurturing environment for ADHD students. Gifted children differ in their process of growth (they deviate from the normal growth) and they ought to be understood and appreciated in order to permit them to thrive within the normal classrooms setting. Since one of the root causes of ADHD in students may be family violence, the student may need to be counseled and given appropriate psychotherapy. Family members and parents are supposed to be included in the decisions made concerning education of the gifted child and the schools are supposed to recognize and nurture the gifts in order for them to benefit the community even after the formal schooling has come to an end (Monaco, 2007). Standard 3 entails the understanding of and the embrace of the ideology that each child is different and possesses different learning needs and natures. There are a number of strategies that gifted child makes use of such as the identification of patterns easily in their course of study. Each child is within the setting of a family and the cultural factors affect their perspectives and beliefs regarding the world that surrounds them. A child with ADHD should be made to understand that in spite of their unique condition, they are appreciated like other individuals. The teacher is supposed to respect the differences and it is imperative to bring them into the classroom setting to teach and appreciate the diverse multicultural world (Monaco, 2007). Exceptionalities and Foundations in Gifted Education In gifted education, there are two perspectives and they include mystery and mastery model. In the mystery model perspective, the child is born with high potential and he basically scores very high in the intelligence tests. Their capability remains relatively constant over a considerable length of time. In gifted education, the child is simply categorized as gifted or not gifted and this is done without any link to a particular educational programme that is based on the specific strengths or abilities (Foster and Matthews, 2009). The mastery model aligns well with the special education best practices and the focus is on the learning differences at different points in time that need special education adaptation. In this perspective, the child is regarded “gifted when her learning needs in a given subject area are so advanced relative to those of her classmates that her academic development will be stalled or impeded unless the educational programming is somehow modified and adapted to meet those learning needs” (Foster and Matthews, 2009). Standard 1 is concerned with the foundations of talented and gifted education. The teachers of gifted and talented students need to have a wide and full understanding of the philosophical, legal, ethical, and historical foundations of the gifted and talented education field. The teacher needs to apply the knowledge in order to successfully meet the requirements of the ADHD student with high capability without ignoring his tendency to lose interest in learning as recommended by (Indiana Department of Education, 2010). In the case of a student like Jack, the teacher understands the exceptional capabilities that he posses in learning. Standard 5 is concerned with the learning environment. The teachers of the talented and gifted ADHD student should have a wide and detailed understanding of the various learning environments for the talented and gifted students. They also need to apply strategies that create safe, equitable, supportive, and a safe learning environment for the gifted and talented students in order to encourage open-minded inquiry, creative expression, and appreciation of diversity tolerance for ambiguity, risk taking, and divergent ideas (Indiana Department of Education, 2010). When dealing with a student with ADHD, the teacher must take notice of the student’s loss of attention during learning and take every possible measure to make the classroom an exciting place to be in. Furthermore, the teacher needs to contain the student’s restlessness by giving them particular attention and appropriately motivating them whenever they tend to lose oncentration. Learning Environments and Social Interactions Responsive to the Needs of Learners with Exceptionalities and Gifts and Talents Individuals who have exceptional learning requirements refer to the individuals with extraordinary talents and gifts, and individuals with disabilities. Standard 5 offers recommendations that can assist in the creation of learning opportunities and environments that promote appreciation of the cultural differences, individual and background characteristics, independence, self-efficacy, positive peer relations, positive social interactions, motivation, and self-awareness. The following section discusses how the learning and social environments can be set so as to be responsive to Jack’s needs as a gifted student with ADHD. Standard 5 is concerned with the social interactions and learning environments. Special educators engage actively in the creation of learning environments for the persons with ADHD. The learning environment must be capable of fostering Jack’s emotional well-being, safety, positive social interaction, active involvement and cultural understanding. In addition, Jack should have learn in an environment in which value is given to diversity and the individuals are taught how to live productively and harmoniously as noted by Council for Exceptional Children (2004). The special educators shape the environments to boost self-motivation, personal empowerment, self-advocacy, self-direction and independence of persons with exceptional learning needs. Jack should always be allowed in normal environments and engaged fully in meaningful learning interactions and activities. His teachers ought to use direct instructional and motivational interventions to teach him how to respond successfully to current expectations. He should be rewarded positively whenever he manages to contain his hyperactivity such as through acknowledgement. When necessary, a superior other can cautiously intervene when Jacks behavior or condition seems to get into a crisis. Language and Communication for Individuals with Exceptionalities and Gifts and Talents Language-based learning disabilities are associated with problems related to age-appropriate writing, spelling and reading. The disorder is not concerned with how smart the person is. Majority of the people who are diagnosed with the learning disabilities possess average to superior intelligence (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2011). Standard 6 recommends the strategies for the facilitation of oral and written communication development for persons with exceptional learning requirements; when appropriate assistive technologies can also be used. The standard puts into consideration the different cultural and family background of the exceptional, gifted and talented student and their influence on the language and communication of the exceptional individual. Special educators understand atypical and typical language development and the modes in which the exceptional situations can interact with the person’s experience with and utilization of language. They utilize individualized strategies to teach communication skills and promote language development to persons with exceptional learning requirements. They are familiar with alternative, assistive, and augmentative technologies to provide support and improve communication for the individuals with exceptional requirements. The special educators match their communication modes to the individual’s linguistic and cultural differences and language proficiency (National Association for Gifted Children, 2008). They offer effective language models and utilize communication resources and strategies to facilitate the understanding of the subject matter for the individual with exceptional learning requirements (Council for Exceptional Children, 2004). For a gifted student with AD/HD like Jack, there are a number of recommendations that can be taken into consideration in order to assist the student to cope with emotional and social developments problems associated with the condition. The recommendations include: Exploring the multiple perspectives in pursuit of the information regarding AD/HD. Little information is available regarding the condition and there is need for the parents to know the characteristics of AD/HD and giftedness. Becoming familiar with a number behavioral and educational strategy in order to determine the combinations that could be effective for the child. Parents and teachers ought to be creative in thinking of the possible ways or strategies of coping with the condition. Become cautious with the promises of quick fixes whether they are medical, educational or behavioral. AD/HD is an actual that can only be managed and not cured; there are no quick fixes. Become aware that persons with AD/HD have difficulty in the output phase of the cognitive processing. This is one of the biggest frustrations faced by the child and those who offer care services. The disorder affects the child’s capability to self-regulate and to disseminate what they know. Create and support the process of knowing oneself. This is the most important recommendation for the parents who have gifted children suffering from AD/HD. In order to become successful in life, the child is supposed to know himself very well (Moon, 2001). References American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2011). Language-based learning disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/lbld.htm Brulles, D., Kingore, B. & Winebrenner, S. (2008). The cluster grouping handbook: How to challenge gifted students and improve achievement for all. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. Council for Exceptional Children. (2004). The Council for Exceptional Children definition of a well-prepared special education teacher. Reston, VA: Author. Dardig, J. C. (2008). Involving parents of students with special needs: 25 ready-to-use strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Drew, C. J., Egan, M. W. & Hardman, M. L. (2010). Human exceptionality: School, community, and family. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Foster, J. & Matthews, D. J. (2009). Being smart about gifted education: A guidebook for educators and parents. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc. Indiana Department of Education. (2010). Indiana content standard for educators. Indiana Department of Education. Indiana. Johnsen, S. K. (2006). Definitions, models, and characteristics of gifted students. Retrieved from http://www.prufrock.com/client/client_pages/Definitions_and_Characteristics/Definitions_and_Characteristics_of_Gifted_Students.cfm Monaco, T. (2007). Teachers evaluations of NAGC initial knowledge & skill standards for gifted and talented education. Retrieved from http://www.academicleadership.org/article/print/Teachers_Evaluations_of_NAGC_Initial_Knowledge Moon, S. M. (2001). Parenting gifted children with AD/HD. Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10105.aspx National Association for Gifted Children. (2011). Diversity in the NAGC-CEC standards. Retrieved from http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1873 Obiakor, F. E., Rotatori, A. F. & Utley, C. A. R. (2003). Effective education for learners with exceptionalities, volume 15. Oxford, UK: Emerald Group Publishing. Vang, C. T. (2010). An educational psychology of methods in multicultural education. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Read More